


And I am the arrow, the dew that flies

by tigriswolf



Series: comment_fic drabbles [27]
Category: Inception (2010)
Genre: Backstory, Future Fic, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-11-07
Updated: 2011-11-07
Packaged: 2017-10-25 19:22:25
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 596
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/273863
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tigriswolf/pseuds/tigriswolf
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>With his dying breath, the boy wished very hard.</p><p>The next day, a man who'd never been in the army walked away with thousands of dollars worth of equipment and into a life of crime.</p><p>The boy's name had been Arthur.</p>
            </blockquote>





	And I am the arrow, the dew that flies

**Author's Note:**

> Title: And I am the arrow, the dew that flies
> 
> Disclaimer: not my characters; title from Sylvia Plath
> 
> Warnings: AUish, most likely
> 
> Pairings: Arthur/Eames
> 
> Rating: PG
> 
> Wordcount: 590
> 
> Point of view: third
> 
> Prompt: Inception, Arthur(/Dom or Eames), Tulpa

"Where'd you come from, Arthur?" Eames asks one night, after another job completed (three continents and a week ago). He's not quite drunk —neither of them is— and Arthur thinks about answering. Just for a moment.

"Suburbia," he says. "The army."

He doesn't say, _your dreams. everyone's dreams_.

Eames wouldn't believe him, anyway.

o0o

_once there was a boy. he was a good boy, until he wasn't anymore._

_and as he was dying, the bad boy begged for a savior. for a hero of his very own, an anti-hero, someone who was strong and quick and didn't hesitate. someone like he might have been, if he hadn't been the youngest of five, three different fathers, living on the streets and in shelters._

_someone like he wanted to be once, before all he wanted was to be alive._

_with his dying breath, the boy wished very hard._

_the next day, a man who'd never been in the army walked away with thousands of dollars worth of equipment and into a life of crime._

_the boy's name had been Arthur._

o0o

"Where did you come from, Arthur?" Mal asks, curled up beside Cobb on the couch. Mal is lovely, with a bright smile and a clever mind, and sometimes she calls him _darling_. Arthur has never been anybody's darling.

He smiles at her and says, "Suburbia. Then I escaped that for the army, and you know what happened next."

She grins at him and nudges Cobb's shoulder. "Isn't he wonderful, love?"

Cobb nods. "Arthur," he says. "Would you like a job?"

o0o

_Arthur is a ghost. Arthur is a legend. no one knows where he came from, or anything about him. rumor says he was in the blackest of ops._

_rumor says he is the best. rumor says he is vicious, and dangerous, and that his mind is terrifying. rumor says he is undefeated._

_Arthur is all those things. and the belief grows stronger._

o0o

Arthur never talks about his family, or his past, or his hopes for the future. Arthur has none.

He wants for nothing. He dreams of nothing. He is strong and he is quick and he does not hesitate.

Until the day he does.

Until Eames asks, "Where'd you come from, Arthur?" and Arthur thinks about telling him.

For a moment, Arthur hesitates.

o0o

_once there was a boy._

_his name was Arthur, and he hoped, he wished, he yearned so very much…_

_there is a man._

_his name is Arthur, and he imagines about telling a thief the truth._

o0o

 _I am a dream,_ Arthur thinks, watching Eames walk to the shower. _I exist because a boy was dying, and then an entire profession wanted me. I'm the ideal. I'm the legend._

 _I am what you made me,_ he thinks, peeling himself out the sheets. _And one day I'll cease to be because the belief will fade._

Eames presses him against the wall, bites his shoulder. Arthur closes his eyes and moans.

o0o

_Arthur was never born and he never dies. he is a legend, a myth, an ideal that all dream-walkers aspire to be._

_legend also speaks of his partner, the greatest forger ever._

_dreams can have dreams of their own, if they yearn enough._

_and Arthur… he is still the best._

o0o

"Where'd y'all come from?" the little green architect asks, eyes still shiny with excitement.

Arthur flicks a glance to Eames. Eames' lips twist in a grin and Arthur smirks when he says, "Suburbia. Then the army."

The little green architect blushes and looks down, and the belief grows stronger.

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [[PODFIC] I am the arrow, the dew that flies](https://archiveofourown.org/works/1155494) by [himitsutsubasa](https://archiveofourown.org/users/himitsutsubasa/pseuds/himitsutsubasa)




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